‘Who they are through God’s eyes’

POMPTON LAKES   Ronnie Gonzalez of St. Anthony Parish, Hawthorne, and his wife, Cathy, often looked to the Holy Spirit for inspiration while planning fun activities for their weekly visits this summer to the seven developmentally disabled residents of Barnet House, a group home here. Once, the couple found that inspiration from a piece of tape.

During one visit, Ronnie Gonzalez, a third-year candidate for permanent diaconate in Diocese, and Cathy, a pre-k teacher at St. Anthony School, devised a game to test the residents’ knowledge of the Catholic faith. They created hand-held paddles, so residents could answer the questions by flipping them to one side for “yes” and the other side for “no.” But the couple realized that one resident of Barnet House, operated by the Department for Persons with Disabilities (DPD) of diocesan Catholic Charities, is blind. So they placed a small piece of tape on one side of a paddle so she could differentiate between the answers, said Ronnie Gonzalez, who anticipates being called to ordination in 2020.

“This summer was our first time working with the developmentally disabled. We learned to adapt — sometimes to work differently than we had planned. The Holy Spirit worked through us and it was great,” said Gonzalez, who completed an internship — or “practicum” — in social service ministry at the Catholic Charity facility — part of his studies for permanent diaconate in the Diocese. At Barnet House, they conducted a Bible study, games that tested residents’ knowledge of the faith and also social events, such as a pizza party. “We asked them questions, such as ‘When is the Holy Spirit here: all the time, never or only on your birthday?’ It was amazing how much information that they remembered. When teaching them, it helps to break down things in simple terms,” he said.

This summer, many candidates for 2020 diaconate class completed the social services practicum — part of this rigorous four-year academic program for permanent diaconate candidates in the Diocese through Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University, South Orange. Other candidates volunteered for 40 hours at DPD group homes in Clifton, Sparta, Succasunna and Wayne or at its Gruenert Center, an adult training program in Lake Hopatcong. Over the years, candidates have also served at other Catholic Charities agencies or local social service programs. After their summer internships, candidates wrote a short report about their experiences and submitted it to the diocesan Office of the Permanent Diaconate. The supervisor of the facility that a candidate visited also wrote and submitted an evaluation of him, said Deacon Peter Cistaro of St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany, director of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate.

“Before this summer, some of the candidates had never ministered in a Catholic Charities agency. Some of them were uneasy when they first entered. But in no time, the supervisors and residents made them feel more comfortable. Many of the candidates have been inspired to continue to serve Catholic Charities,” said Deacon Cistaro, who read the reports and evaluations as they were submitted. “This experience taught the men that God’s people come in all shapes and sizes and to be there, reaching out to everyone, especially the least among us,” Deacon Cistaro said.

These candidates have been training to become permanent deacons: “men of faith and love.” As ordained ministers of the Church, they will strive “to extend that faith and love by serving the sick, the lonely, the troubled and the poor by proclaiming the Word of God and by administering the sacraments” — often most effectively in “the surroundings of his worldly environment.” Permanent deacons can minister in various forms of service, including health care ministry, youth ministry, prison ministry, campus ministry, pastoral counseling, religious education, baptism, marriage preparation and ministry to the elderly, the homeless, the divorced and separated and the marginalized victims of our society, according to the web page of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate at https://rcdop.org/permanent-diaconate.

As part of their studies, candidates take courses at Im­maculate Conception and complete three practicums: one in preaching, one in social services and another in health care. When they complete their studies, they will have earned a master’s degree in theology from Immaculate Conception. Those candidates, who do not hold a bachelor’s degree, will have earned a certificate of completion, Deacon Cistaro said.

For the summer social-service practicum, many of the candidates contacted Patricia Barrett, DPD’s director of pastoral care and volunteers, who scheduled group home visits at convenient locations and times. DPD’s group homes provide residents with a “quality of life, a sense of community and mental, physical and spiritual development,” Barrett said.

“Some candidates have never before served the developmentally disabled population. They were worried, not knowing what to do. But they represent God and all good things and began to see the residents or clients for who they are through God’s eyes. That’s when the transformation begins. The residents and clients get into your heart. They can’t help it,” Barrett said. “Through the practicum, the candidates gain knowledge about the good work of Catholic Charities that they can take back to their parishes,” she said.

Recently, Deacon Michael Allgaier of St. Mary Parish, Denville, who has overseen the academic studies of the Class of 2020, wrote a letter to the summer interns, calling their charitable work “magnificent!”

“We are most pleased with your individual contributions to God’s people. As a class you distinguished yourselves. Beyond you giving of yourself, reflecting first hand your modeling of Jesus as a sacrifice for the people, you all have received so much,” Deacon Allgaier wrote. “It is in seeing Jesus in others that we grow in our ability to give joyously. That is the secret we can share with everyone. You receive so much more than you give when giving without concern for return,” he wrote.

After his summer internship, Ronnie Gonzalez, superintendent of public works for the Hawthorne Township, said that he and Cathy “look forward to continue visiting” Barnet House.

“It’s about the love that goes around the room. The residents are not friends, but family. We learned that there are a lot of people in need out there who need us to care for them, because God is not going to forget them,” Ronnie Gonzalez said.